VIPs Beam as Arch ‘Tops Off’ Terminal

Gracefully arched into a crescent, the massive steel truss weighed 7,000 pounds, not counting the American flag, the construction company flag and the small evergreen tree fastened to the top of the curve.

As scores of visitors and construction workers looked on, and jet planes took off and landed a few hundred feet away, a crane operator gently lifted the arch and its colorful decorations. He guided the steel crescent quickly, accurately into slots on beams 60 feet overhead.

Burly ironworkers, their skin copper-colored from bright sun, swiftly climbed up the steel framework. With a few deft turns, the workers anchored the arch. Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd below.

One of the spectators, Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth, said, “This is a very, very important day in the history of Orange County.”

With that benediction, construction workers on Thursday afternoon “topped off” the new airport terminal being built at John Wayne Airport. The ceremony marked the placement of the final piece of steel framing for the 337,900-square-foot terminal.

More importantly, according to Roth and other county officials, the ceremony marked a “catch-up” on construction. Once beset by time delays and budget problems, work on the new airport terminal is now back on schedule, officials said.

“I expect the airport terminal to open on April 1, 1990, just as we originally planned,” said George Rebella, airport manager. “I even expect us, ultimately, to be within our original budget of $295 million (for the overall airport expansion), rather than the revised budget of $310 million.”

The new terminal, which is part of the airport expansion, will replace the small, overcrowded facility that has for 22 years been the first thing that greets airline passengers upon arriving in Orange County.

“It’s something we’ve needed for years,” said Roth. “I’ve had people come to see me on business and they see our airport and they say, ‘My gosh, is that the best a county of 2.2 million people can offer?’ ”

The new terminal now shows its impressive size because of the completed steel framework. The high, arched structure resembles a huge sports arena facing MacArthur Boulevard, immediately north of the old terminal.

Huntington Beach Councilman Don MacAllister, a member of the Orange County Airport Commission, was among the dignitaries present for the topping-off event. He said he was awed by the size of the new terminal, even though he has long been familiar with its proposed dimensions and had seen scale models many times. The new structure is more than 11 times larger than the existing, 29,000-square-foot terminal.

“You don’t realize the enormity until you stand next to it,” MacAllister said. “It is very large, and it’s putting Orange County into the 21st Century. Also, its design is very, very beautiful--a design that will be in style for many years to come. We (the Airport Commission) recently received some architectural awards for the terminal design, and this is very nice after the hullabaloo we went through there for a while--people trying to put down the design.”

Cost problems have been major headaches for the new terminal. A year ago, the lowest construction bid came in at $59.7 million--about $19 million higher than expected. Cost reductions were ordered, and the current price tag on the new terminal is about $48 million.

Redesign of structural steel in the new terminal caused construction delays. Chris Elliott, project executive for Taylor Woodrow, the construction contractor, said Thursday that quick work by the ironworkers of Stott Inc., the steel subcontractor, helped make up for the lost time.

“Steel erection commenced 18 weeks behind our original schedule,” Elliott said. “Thanks largely to the efforts of Stott during 4 short months, we have recovered 6 weeks of this delay, giving us all a very real chance to complete the project by the original target date.”

Clusters of workmen at the ceremony then yelled, “Yea, for the ironworkers!”

After the topping-off event, Taylor Woodrow played host to a reception inside the steel-framed skeleton of the new terminal.

A Dixieland jazz band played spirited music, and visiting politicians and business executives mingled with the ironworkers in celebrating the construction milestone.

A few speeches were given, but they had to be yelled to the crowd over the jet noise nearby. Officials noted that despite the scientific marvels of the 1980s, no one yet had found a way to make microphones always function properly at a public event.

Supervisor Roth, in mock exasperation, said, “We can get this big terminal under way, but we can’t get a microphone to work!

“A lot of people were concerned about whether this new terminal would actually be built, and here today we are topping it off,” he said. “This is very important for air travel to Orange County, and as a former mayor of Anaheim, I can tell you that I know a lot about the importance of tourism. . . . It’s exciting to have such a showpiece for visitors and business people coming to this county.”

SERVICE CANCELED

American Airlines stops flights from Orange County to Sacramento. Business, Page 1

NEW JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT TERMINAL Scheduled opening: April 1, 1990

Size: 337,900 square feet

Length: 1,150 feet

Gates to planes: 14

Capacity: 8.4 million passengers a year

Cost: About $48 million

Parking: Three adjacent structures holding 8,400 car spaces